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Editor's Choice

Clamp-Free Flexible Sleeves for SpoutingA new design to connect spouting offers better speed, safety, and sanitation than worm-gear-style hose clamps. Advantages include the ability to remove and replace the flexible sleeve in seconds without tools, no risk of injury to people or damage to equipment from screwdrivers, a crevice-free design that eliminates any chance of product buildup, and a choice of straight or tapered sleeves. The USDA-3A (#63-03)–accepted sleeves have an airtight seal that eliminates dust. The patented BFM fitting design works with in-line, offset, and oscillating equipment. Each assembly consists of two stainless-steel adapters (welded to spouting) and one flexible sleeve. Both ends of the sleeve have a flexible snap-in gasket that forms an airtight seal when it’s inserted into the adapter. The tight seal easily resists sudden-pressure shock and can pass a 10-psig pressure test. The sleeves can be fabricated from clear standard 0.040-in.polyester, Kevlar, and other materials. Diameters and lengths from 4 in. through 26 in. and custom sizes are available.Nu-Con Equipment, Chanhassen, MN 877-939-0510 www.nucon.com

Air Cannon
The Big Blaster Hurricane air cannon features an efficient discharge valve that provides more force output than the company’s conventional air cannon designs to remove buildups and improve flow. The patent-pending design supplies twice the force using half the air. Air cannons provide a powerful blast of air to improve the flow of bulk materials through storage and process vessels. Applications include the recovery of solids from bins and silos and the elimination of buildups in cement kiln preheater towers. The new unit’s efficient discharge-valve design enables the use of a smaller air reservoir, simplifying installation and maintenance. The new air cannon is designed to be service-friendly, since the valve is accessible without dismounting the tank from the vessel wall. All moving parts—seat, piston, and valve—can be removed and replaced as a single assembly.Martin Engineering, Neponset, IL 800-544-2947 www.martin-eng.com

Food Scales
The Combics food scale series has been specially designed to withstand rigorous and complete disinfection while maintaining precision and accuracy. Manufactured in accordance with European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) guidelines, all standard models are made entirely of high-alloy AISI Type 304 stainless steel, which is ideal for food industry applications as well as chemical and pharmaceutical markets in which product contact is of concern. A platform option is also available with electropolished AISI Type 316Ti stainless steel to ensure a surface finish of less than 0.8 µm for components that come into contact with food. An open design prevents contamination from inaccessible areas, and detailed cleaning instructions simplify the analysis and control of potential hazards in strict accordance with HACCP regulations. Sartorius Corp., Edgewood, NY 800-635-2906 www.sartorius-usa.com

Automatic Sack Opening and Emptying Machine
The LaborSave fully automatic sack opening and emptying machine handles more than 1300 sacks/hr without an operator. Full pallets are loaded by a forklift operator, and the unloading of the empty pallet is done automatically. Everything else is performed without human intervention. For each cycle, the unit mechanically grabs a layer of sacks regardless of orientation, position, and number or type of sack per layer; slits the sacks without any loss of contents; and empties the sacks into a hopper, ensuring complete utilization of the contents. The machine handles an average of four to five layers per minute. The use of mechanical grabbers facilitates the handling of most types of sacks, including plastic, paper, and burlap sacks; single or multilayered sacks; and sacks filled with granular or powdered product. The unit is controlled by a menu-driven, user-friendly, automatic control system, enabling the control of system parameters.Ayal Robotics and Engineering Ltd., Teradion Industrial Zone, Israel 972-4-9990061 www.laborsave.com